School Board backs teacher accused of mishandling autistic child

Published: Tuesday, May 13, 2014 at 4:06 p.m.

Last Modified: Tuesday, May 13, 2014 at 4:06 p.m.

The School Board on Tuesday overturned Superintendent of Schools George Tomyn's recommendation to fire a teacher accused of tussling with, dragging and grabbing a 10-year-old autistic child to get him to follow class rules.

The board found that Maplewood Elementary School teacher Tracey Newton did not violate the School Board policy that says teachers cannot touch a student without assistance from a second trained adult.

The decision came after a two-day hearing that included the viewing of a 94-minute classroom video of the incident, as well as testimony from school administrators, the boy's mother, and the teacher herself.

Newton has been suspended without pay since late November. She will be on paid leave until administrators review all options for where she might be placed in the district. The boy will not be allowed in her classroom.

On Friday, district administrators presented to the board their case to fire Newton, a 10-year veteran in what's called self-contained Exceptional Student Education.

On Tuesday, Newton spoke to the board about her actions and said she did nothing wrong.

At issue was what happened on Sept. 5, three days after the "functioning" autistic fifth-grader arrived at Maplewood Elementary from North Carolina.

Newton's room is equipped with a video camera that records class sessions. The video from that day shows Newton grabbing the boy's wrists, dragging him across the classroom, and videotaping the boy with her cellphone. Newton can also be seen kicking the boy's backpack three times across the room.

Tomyn said Newton violated the teacher code of ethics by failing to protect the child's health and safety; intentionally exposing the child to embarrassment; and videotaping the child with her cellphone.

Carol Ely and Ron Crawford supported the move to fire Newton. But Nancy Stacy, Angela Boynton and Bobby James voted to exonerate her.

Stacy noted that the district replaced all of the Maplewood administration at the end of last school year. Therefore, 100 percent of the administration was new, and the teacher was not getting the expert support she needed.

Stacy likened this case to a driver caught going 70 mph in a 55 mph zone. "She was not going 130 mph. We need to keep our good teachers," she said.

Boynton said the evidence was clear that Maplewood administrators purposely placed unruly autistic students in Newton's classroom because of her proven discipline techniques.

Boynton said that fact offsets Newton's admission that she violated a district policy by not calling for a second adult in the room before using restraint techniques — in this case, grabbing the boy's wrists.

James said when he viewed the video he did not see a teacher who was out of control. He saw a teacher trying to get an unruly child to follow class procedure.

Ely, on the other hand, said Newton clearly was out of control.

"I think it would be a travesty to keep her in the classroom," Ely said.

Newton's attorney, Mark Herdman of Clearwater, said Newton was in control and that she was engaged in a "battle of wills." He said Newton was trying to get the child, who had to been at the school for only three days, to follow the rules.

The school district's attorney, Gary Sanders, said the video speaks for itself. The district moved to fire Newton because she violated teacher ethics.

Herdman said the ruling pleased him.

"She's a great teacher and will always be a great teacher," he said.

Newton, who declined to comment, cried when she heard the board's decision. Moments after the hearing ended, she hugged each of the three board members who supported her.

The mother of the child, Uronda Lassiter, also cried after the ruling, stating the district did everything it could to remove Newton from the classroom.

"The School Board let me down," she said. "I feel like there is no justice for my son or for all the other children in Marion County."

Tomyn said the district thoroughly investigated the incident. Officials viewed the video and it was clear that Newton "jeopardized this student's safety."

"Parents can rest assured that I will continue to take this stance to maintain a safe and orderly environment for our students," Tomyn said.

On Tuesday, Newton told the board she felt it was necessary to calm the student's behavior so his actions did not affect the behavior of the six or so other autistic children in the classroom.

Newton said she was trying to make the child, who had been documented as having violent tendencies, "follow directions."

"He would hit, he would spit and he would kick," Newton said.

Newton said she felt her actions were appropriate and would have handled the situation the same way again.

"It was well calculated, well thought out," she said of her discipline tactics.

Newton said she told the administration that the boy should be placed in a more specialized classroom because of his documented violent tendencies. Instead, he was placed in her room by administrators because she was known for her expertise in successful discipline tactics, she maintained.

Also on Tuesday, a parent of an autistic child testified that Newton was a great teacher who turned her unruly son into a polite child in three years.

During the Friday hearing, the board viewed the video and heard from the child's mom.

The video showed Newton ordering the boy to stand in front of the room in what is called "timeout." When the boy wouldn't obey her demands, Newton is seen off and on trying to force the boy to comply, often getting physical.

The video showed Newton holding the boy's wrists for five minutes. She was also seen pulling the child by his jacket, trying to get that item off him. The mother said her son's jacket was his "security blanket" and that he wore it all year, even in bed.

Because the boy was known for his "extreme violence," Newton said it made her nervous that the boy always had his hands in his jacket pockets. She was concerned there may have been something dangerous in his pocket.

The video also showed Newton grabbing the boy by his wrists and releasing her grip. When she released, the boy fell into a cardboard box.

The video also showed Newton grabbing the boy under both arms and dragging him across the floor.

Assistant Principal Brian Greene said at Friday's hearing that he viewed a recorded video feed linked to his office computer and felt Newton's actions rose to a concerning level.

Greene contacted the district office, the Marion County Sheriff's Office and the Department of Children and Families. All agencies found there were no criminal violations.

Herdman said Maplewood administrators often ask Newton to "fix" unruly autistic children, and that his client was trying to let the child know his behavior would not be accepted.

"It was a battle of the wills," Herdman told the board.

Adrienne Ellers, a school district behavioral specialist who trains teachers on how to handle unruly students, testified that Newton did not follow protocol, which requires teachers to use verbal de-escalation techniques and keep children at arm's length.

This is to keep both the student and the teacher safe.

When such incidents begin to escalate, teachers should also call for help, Ellers said. The second person can also be used as a witness, she noted.

Ellers said under no circumstance should a teacher drag a student around a classroom by his sweatshirt or hold his wrists. She said students should only be touched if they are in danger of hurting themselves or damaging property.

Not until the end of the hourlong episode did Newton ask for help, officials noted.

The incident ended when the school dean, Doris Tucker, removed the child from the classroom.

Contact Joe Callahan at 867-4113 or joe.callahan@starbanner.com. Follow him on Twitter at JoeOcalaNews.

<p>The School Board on Tuesday overturned Superintendent of Schools George Tomyn's recommendation to fire a teacher accused of tussling with, dragging and grabbing a 10-year-old autistic child to get him to follow class rules.</p><p>The board found that Maplewood Elementary School teacher Tracey Newton did not violate the School Board policy that says teachers cannot touch a student without assistance from a second trained adult.</p><p>The decision came after a two-day hearing that included the viewing of a 94-minute classroom video of the incident, as well as testimony from school administrators, the boy's mother, and the teacher herself.</p><p>Newton has been suspended without pay since late November. She will be on paid leave until administrators review all options for where she might be placed in the district. The boy will not be allowed in her classroom.</p><p>On Friday, district administrators presented to the board their case to fire Newton, a 10-year veteran in what's called self-contained Exceptional Student Education.</p><p>On Tuesday, Newton spoke to the board about her actions and said she did nothing wrong.</p><p>At issue was what happened on Sept. 5, three days after the "functioning" autistic fifth-grader arrived at Maplewood Elementary from North Carolina.</p><p>Newton's room is equipped with a video camera that records class sessions. The video from that day shows Newton grabbing the boy's wrists, dragging him across the classroom, and videotaping the boy with her cellphone. Newton can also be seen kicking the boy's backpack three times across the room.</p><p>Tomyn said Newton violated the teacher code of ethics by failing to protect the child's health and safety; intentionally exposing the child to embarrassment; and videotaping the child with her cellphone.</p><p>Carol Ely and Ron Crawford supported the move to fire Newton. But Nancy Stacy, Angela Boynton and Bobby James voted to exonerate her.</p><p>Stacy noted that the district replaced all of the Maplewood administration at the end of last school year. Therefore, 100 percent of the administration was new, and the teacher was not getting the expert support she needed.</p><p>Stacy likened this case to a driver caught going 70 mph in a 55 mph zone. "She was not going 130 mph. We need to keep our good teachers," she said.</p><p>Boynton said the evidence was clear that Maplewood administrators purposely placed unruly autistic students in Newton's classroom because of her proven discipline techniques.</p><p>Boynton said that fact offsets Newton's admission that she violated a district policy by not calling for a second adult in the room before using restraint techniques — in this case, grabbing the boy's wrists.</p><p>James said when he viewed the video he did not see a teacher who was out of control. He saw a teacher trying to get an unruly child to follow class procedure.</p><p>Ely, on the other hand, said Newton clearly was out of control.</p><p>"I think it would be a travesty to keep her in the classroom," Ely said.</p><p>Newton's attorney, Mark Herdman of Clearwater, said Newton was in control and that she was engaged in a "battle of wills." He said Newton was trying to get the child, who had to been at the school for only three days, to follow the rules.</p><p>The school district's attorney, Gary Sanders, said the video speaks for itself. The district moved to fire Newton because she violated teacher ethics.</p><p>Herdman said the ruling pleased him.</p><p>"She's a great teacher and will always be a great teacher," he said.</p><p>Newton, who declined to comment, cried when she heard the board's decision. Moments after the hearing ended, she hugged each of the three board members who supported her.</p><p>The mother of the child, Uronda Lassiter, also cried after the ruling, stating the district did everything it could to remove Newton from the classroom.</p><p>"The School Board let me down," she said. "I feel like there is no justice for my son or for all the other children in Marion County."</p><p>Tomyn said the district thoroughly investigated the incident. Officials viewed the video and it was clear that Newton "jeopardized this student's safety."</p><p>"Parents can rest assured that I will continue to take this stance to maintain a safe and orderly environment for our students," Tomyn said.</p><p>On Tuesday, Newton told the board she felt it was necessary to calm the student's behavior so his actions did not affect the behavior of the six or so other autistic children in the classroom.</p><p>Newton said she was trying to make the child, who had been documented as having violent tendencies, "follow directions."</p><p>"He would hit, he would spit and he would kick," Newton said.</p><p>Newton said she felt her actions were appropriate and would have handled the situation the same way again.</p><p>"It was well calculated, well thought out," she said of her discipline tactics.</p><p>Newton said she told the administration that the boy should be placed in a more specialized classroom because of his documented violent tendencies. Instead, he was placed in her room by administrators because she was known for her expertise in successful discipline tactics, she maintained.</p><p>Also on Tuesday, a parent of an autistic child testified that Newton was a great teacher who turned her unruly son into a polite child in three years.</p><p>During the Friday hearing, the board viewed the video and heard from the child's mom.</p><p>The video showed Newton ordering the boy to stand in front of the room in what is called "timeout." When the boy wouldn't obey her demands, Newton is seen off and on trying to force the boy to comply, often getting physical.</p><p>The video showed Newton holding the boy's wrists for five minutes. She was also seen pulling the child by his jacket, trying to get that item off him. The mother said her son's jacket was his "security blanket" and that he wore it all year, even in bed.</p><p>Because the boy was known for his "extreme violence," Newton said it made her nervous that the boy always had his hands in his jacket pockets. She was concerned there may have been something dangerous in his pocket.</p><p>The video also showed Newton grabbing the boy by his wrists and releasing her grip. When she released, the boy fell into a cardboard box.</p><p>The video also showed Newton grabbing the boy under both arms and dragging him across the floor.</p><p>Assistant Principal Brian Greene said at Friday's hearing that he viewed a recorded video feed linked to his office computer and felt Newton's actions rose to a concerning level.</p><p>Greene contacted the district office, the Marion County Sheriff's Office and the Department of Children and Families. All agencies found there were no criminal violations.</p><p>Herdman said Maplewood administrators often ask Newton to "fix" unruly autistic children, and that his client was trying to let the child know his behavior would not be accepted.</p><p>"It was a battle of the wills," Herdman told the board.</p><p>Adrienne Ellers, a school district behavioral specialist who trains teachers on how to handle unruly students, testified that Newton did not follow protocol, which requires teachers to use verbal de-escalation techniques and keep children at arm's length.</p><p>This is to keep both the student and the teacher safe.</p><p>When such incidents begin to escalate, teachers should also call for help, Ellers said. The second person can also be used as a witness, she noted.</p><p>Ellers said under no circumstance should a teacher drag a student around a classroom by his sweatshirt or hold his wrists. She said students should only be touched if they are in danger of hurting themselves or damaging property.</p><p>Not until the end of the hourlong episode did Newton ask for help, officials noted.</p><p>The incident ended when the school dean, Doris Tucker, removed the child from the classroom.</p><p>Contact Joe Callahan at 867-4113 or joe.callahan@starbanner.com. Follow him on Twitter at JoeOcalaNews.</p>